Humanocide
by TrulySheena
Summary: After the invasion of New York and the rest of the country, Kara, Keyonna, & Bria go on a quest out of fear for hopes of survival to survive in a hopeless world. Written by TrulySheena & ShannaroSaku-chan.
1. Prologue

**Hey! This is my first fanfiction in a long time based off of Stephenie Meyer's new novel, The Host. It is also co-written with my best friend, ShannaroSaku-chan. Please read her fanfictions if you have time, I can guarantee you that they're really good and better than yours truly ;) I hope you enjoy our fanfiction very much!**

**Know a few things -**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

**Thank you!**

--

Four months have passed since the day that _they _took over New York. The crisis which led to the extinction of all humans. Was it really a crisis?

No. Only people being held prisoner in their own bodies.

_Humanocide. _Atleast, that's what my friend, Keyonna, likes to call it.

"Where are we going, Kara?"

"Kara?"

Honestly, I had no idea. We were all horrified out of our minds. More than that. Out of our _existences._ We were the only survivors left on Earth. Her, Bria, and me. Bria being my younger sister. We're all very close in age - me being the oldest at seventeen (which we celebrated alone last month, due to the extinction of the rest of the state), Bria, age fifteen with an upcoming sixteenth birthday, and Keyonna, fifteen in June. (Oh, and it's April right now, if you're wondering).

It was December when this all happened. An extremely cold day, but that was normal for New Yorkers. We were all hanging out at Times Square; it was Christmas, the tree was up, gleaming with seasonal lighting - and multiple reflections from each parasite's eyes. These parasites weren't like the normal, _humane_ ones. These ones - Seekers - had only one thing in mind, and that was to take our bodies for the sake of more souls.

Some people who were alive only a few minutes before, watching the night's entertainment from their cars, were being carried off to another type of parasite - Healers; who's 'Calling' was to heal the host bodies for the soul's benefit. There were originally 5 of us, the other two being my parents, but.. they're gone now. Along with the rest of the city.

I noticed some of the Seekers that had passed us had a semi-circular mark on the back of their neck, wondering what it meant, but then having no time to think as we pulled some bodies into the new car to make it appear as if we were _them_ as well - and drove off. Keyonna and Bria shared the front passenger's seat, shivering and crying silently to what was going on. 'Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,' was the only thing flying through my head as I tried to drive less than 55 mph and speeding our asses out of there.

Next thing you knew, we were in Pennsylvania in the middle of nowhere, dumping the bodies out of our car and finally taking a rest.

"Those things can keep those for bodies!" Bria cried, as she kicked one out of the backseat while she faced the other way and vomited out the rest of her fear.

"They're human! Stop it, Bria!" Keyonna said to her, shaking her to make her stop before she became hysterical herself.

I cried silently while watching them. I didn't know what to do. All in one night, I carried bodies into a car, I drove on a _real_ road, and became mother to these teenagers, when I was barely an adult myself! After calming them down (Bria more so than Keyonna), we continued driving on the I-80 W until we pulled off to a rest stop. There were no other cars there, so I pulled to a stop and turned on the radio softly, keeping the sleeping girls out of the harsh reality. What time was it? This car was the old kind where you had to turn off the radio to see the time, but music was the only thing keeping me sane then.

What reason was there to care about time anymore anyway? We _had_ no time.

It must've been late though, considering the little convenience store that inhabited the area was just about to close.

One quick plan came to mind.

We have to look and act like them, just like how we were earlier.

Except even _closer._

I felt the dashboard in the car's dark interior and found the passenger's seat compartment. Nothing. No sharp objects. Papers, something that felt like a liscence and a checkbook. 'Shit..' I pulled out my cellphone and shined the light in the back to see if I saw anything lying in the back besides the girls. Nothing there either.

Except keys.

I grabbed Keyonna's key off the hook of her pants and put it to the back of my neck, scraping a semi-circle mark into it. Biting down and sucking my teeth, I dug it into my skin - making me release a small scream until I felt the blood dripping down my neck. I waited about 5 minutes for the blood flow to stop, and started again. I was there for a good 15 minutes before I finally finished and took a picture with my cell's night vision and saw. Even though the cut was clearly new and probably wouldn't pass, it was _something._ I walked over to the store and saw a man leaving. All of the lights were off and my car was far enough that he wouldn't be able to see it.

_Good._

"Excuse me?" I said, trying to sound as curious as possible.

"Yes? Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to buy something?"

I nodded at the man and wondered what his human self was like while he unlocked the door, giving me a sweet smile.

"Take whatever you like. I'll be right here. Do you want me to turn on the lights, or are the lights from the freezer section bright enough?"

I remembered how _their_ eyes reflected from the light of the Christmas tree. "No, I'll be fine. Thank you." I gave him a returning smile, even though I really didn't feel like it. I wondered if he could see right through me. He obviously didn't.

I walked inside and got a little carrier basket and took everything that we could eat without cooking, some juices, water, and other neccessities that we needed. I walked out without a word.

_Perfect._

"Wait a second!"

I froze in my spot while trying not to shake violently.

"What planet are you from... Are you from the Singing World? You look like you have strong lungs to me. Or is it Fire World? My wife is from the See Weeds." He said, with a huge grin.

My body released all of it's tension as I replied back. "I'm from the.. Four-Legged Creature World."

"Oh really? I've never been to that one!"

"It's a great place."

"I'll tell my wife about it when I get home then, wow! Nice meeting you and thanks for stopping by." He left with those words after shaking my hand.

_Completely flawless._

"Kara!"

Someone shook me awake. It was Keyonna this time, with Bria driving. I was still not used to seeing the two of them drive even though I taught them whenever we were 'safe' - which was only at nighttime in parking lots or empty fields. Almost every day, I would have a dream about how we all started on this whole 'adventure' of ours.

"Here's breakfast, sis!" Bria said, tossing an egg & cheese bagel onto my lap.

_How was it an adventure if we weren't going anywhere?_

"How did you guys get this?!" I exclaimed, looking at the bags of McDonald's inbetween the two front seats.

_How was it an adventure if we don't know what the hell were we looking for?_

"It was so cool, Kara. Bria put on these shades-" She said, taking off the subject's sunglasses - "And I closed my eyes and made believe I was asleep, and she asked for all of this food and when the server asked us where we were heading, she said, 'My soulmate and I are going on vacation together, for our honeymoon.' And she put her hand on my shoulder and I just KNEW she was smiling because the alien got all uncomfortable like, and then gave her the bags of food and told her to have fun with her new wife!" I started cracking up and looked at Bria. Even though she was fragile, she always did the funniest thing and never got us in hot water.

_But how long will it be until we fall into the water ourselves?_

--


	2. Foreigners

**This is our first real chapter of **_**Humanocide**_**. I'm sure you know this from the prologue, but -**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

--

Now Keyonna was at the wheel. "Where are we at, guys?" I said, yawning and pulling up my seat. Bria was in the back with her arms over the two front seats. This was our eighth or ninth car, not entirely sure, since we were constantly running out of gas or had some sort of accident. The car we had now was a sleek black color and made for 4 passengers. The windows were tinted almost completely black from the outside, implying a hint of secrecy within the vehicle. But that's exactly what we were, right?

We're not supposed to exist.

"We've been in Illinois for a bit now, but our car is about to run out of gas soon.." Bria said, pointing to the almost empty meter and frowning.

"Don't forget about the extra tank in the back," added Keyonna gleefully.

"Well, I guess we can stay stationary for a little while.. We should try to find a place to get to."

"Where the hell could we go?? I mean, we can't fake it acting like an alien. 'Hi there, I'm Pisses Behindtrees, nice to meet you, I Don't Give A -"

Just then, a light gleamed into the car windows and glared us in the eyes. We all knew that if we were really aliens, lights would've reflected off the interior no matter how dark it was. Bria quickly pulled out a small flashlight and darted it across the dashboard so the opposing car would continue driving.

The car raised the sirens and the younger two jumped as I held their mouths closed from their screams. After a second, they remembered how to breathe, but that second was a waste of time for us.

"I think you should climb into the back now, Keyonna. Stay back there with Bria. Just calm down. _Both of you._ Lay down. Eyes_ closed_!" Gritting my teeth with impatience, I pulled the car over to the side of the road. _This was the closest we've ever been to getting caught. Why now?_ I tried to hold back the tears in my eyes and waited for the 'police officer' to walk over to us. I put on my shades as I looked through the driver's rear view window.

He came by and knocked on the window.

"Good evening." He said, as I rolled down my window enough for him to audibly hear me. "When my lights glared into your window, I couldn't help but notice that your car lost control for a second and then there were red lights flickering off the windows. Is everything alright?" He said, lifting an eyebrow.

I smiled and flipped my hair. "Everything's fine, officer. You just scared me a little, that's all." I tried to give him a convincing smile. Before the world ended, I was known for my great smile. Hopefully, it can have some use here as well.

"Aha okay. You sure? What was with the red lights?"

I tried to make up a good excuse when he got a call on his walkie-talkie. Something about someone needing to be escorted to the hospital as soon as possible. He told me to be careful and walked back to his car without looking back.

We all let out a big sigh and even a few whimpers. That was _insanely_ close. We all continued to ride silently throughout the night, the two of them staring through our rearview mirrors and myself straight ahead. _Thank God, he didn't see..._

The girls fell asleep within the next half hour, while I still had enough gas to leave us for another hour after they had fallen out. I drove off the next rest stop exit along the I-55 and got some gas - with the use of sunglasses, of course. I parked the car inconspicuously, a good distance away from the store, and decided to go to sleep. Too many things in one night were driving me out of my nerves.

Not too many things. _Only one thing._

That was the fear of being caught. That fear is so strong that it could postpone sleep, paralyze the body, or even force suicide so experience of pain wasn't felt. What kind of corrupted world did we live in...

_"Hey, you know what I was just wondering, Kara?"_

_"What is it?"_

_"If we're ever in this type of story," the voice laughed and was talking about a sci-fi book we were reading. "I promise to come and search for you no matter what. New York may be across the country, but I want you to find a safe place and I'll come and get you, okay?"_

_I smiled. "Sure, okay. But if you don't come soon enough, I'm gonna have to come find you in that Arizona desert myself. Okay?"_

_"Alright. We should find a place to meet each at. I promise that no matter what might be taking over the world or how many years in the future it is, I won't be seperated from you."_

_"I won't be either."_

_"How about..." He sent me a link of the map of the United States that had different places along with cities in each state. "Shawnee Lake in Topeka?"_

It was morning time when I awoke, and Bria was in the front seat with me.

"Good morning, sis! Wanna go steal some more fast food?" She gave me a sly smile and a thumbs up.

"Alright. As long as we don't eat that crap everyday.." My eyes diverted to somewhere in the trees ahead of us.

"What's wrong?" Bria moved herself so I could see some of her face out the corner of my eyes.

"Do you... Let's go to Shawnee Lake in Topeka."

"Where the hell is that?"

"Kansas. Andy said.. He said we would meet there if anything happens.. like in the book."

"Kara... You don't think.. He's.." Bria looked down and bit her lip. I rested my face in my hands for a second and looked back up at her.

"Just think about it Bria," I said, hoping she'll look at it this way. "We can have another human with us. Then there will be_ four_ of us. Four people, Bria! Four!" I was only partly lying. Sure, what I said was true, but I knew why I really wanted to see if he was alive. I had never met him, Andy, in my life, but I was in crazily in love with him, and I knew that he was who I wanted to be with when I died.

Bria didn't say anything. I took her action as acquiescence when she pulled out a map and trailed her finger across the I-70 from Columbia, Missouri, to Topeka, Kansas.

"Thanks, Bria. Thank you."

She nodded and looked out her window. Keyonna stirred a bit but didn't wake up.

"You know, our gas should last us atleast until we get on the I-70. We can probably drive half or more of it with what we have... Then we're just gonna have to walk and lay low."

Bria looked out at the empty road as I pulled back onto it. I turned on the radio and stared back in front of me without knowing what to say. A quick-paced dancing song came up on the radio and I nodded my head to the beat. Bria however, stared at me in disgust.

"Do you know what the hell we're listening to? Oh god!" She rolled her eyes and pulled me a bit closer so I could listen. "It's bug music! Whoever knew _they_ could work in a studio!" She stomped her foot and hit the dashboard at the next lyric. "How dare they make songs about peace and equality... They murdered US! THEY'RE DESTROYING US ONE BY ONE EVERY SINGLE DAY!! AND WE'RE THE LAST ONES AND WE CAN'T EVEN STOP THEM NOW!" Bria became hysterical again so I turned off the radio, taking off my seatbelt at the same time and pulling her in for a hug.

"Don't worry, Bria. Please. We're going to survive. We will.. We've already lived for this long, you see? We're smarter than them. We're gonna live until we're eighty-something years old with grandchildren and nice houses and a sweet, old husband.. or wife," I added at the end, with a wink. I wasn't sure if she could see it since her glasses were foggy with tears, but I'm sure she sensed it in my voice. "Don't worry. We'll be fine. All of us. I bet you there are more humans out there waiting for us to find them!"

She looked up at me and just pushed herself away. She faced the window and curled up through her seatbelt and just cried. I knew that the only thing I could do to comfort her was to speak to her like this, but I wasn't going to break my promise. We're _going_ to live.

Keyonna's hand reached out and held Bria's shoulder. "Trust her, Bria. She promised us food.. and safety.. and she's kept us alive for so long. I bet if she didn't cut the back of our necks or sneak into that store the first time like that, we wouldn't have survived for this long. Okay? She'll protect us forever. We'll protect each other forever. Right, Kara?"

I started driving again and nodded. "Mmhmm." We drove the next forty-five minutes to Missouri and onto the I-70. On the way we put in our replacement gas tank, and like I said, more than halfway across, we were almost in Topeka. We were actually already in Kansas. We just needed to walk a few more miles. The girls gathered all of our food and toiletries in their bags and gave me the bags to hold. Recently, they've been giving me everything to hold (since I actually asked to do it to make things easier for them), so on we walked, with myself being burdened the most.

After 4 hours of continuous walking, eating, and drinking (the latter two for energy of course), we finally reached the area of Topeka. Along the way I had explained to Keyonna what we _hoped _would be in Topeka, and she went along with it finely. We all sat down on the ground and cheered in the afternoon rain, proud that we had traveled _seven_ states on our own - with at first, only the experience of driving around the block - and for once, I think Bria had hope. Out of all of us, she was clearly the most devastated.

"We should do something to celebrate, guys." The girls agreed happily. "How about we get ourselves fixed up a bit?" They jumped up and held onto each other with excitement. None of us had tooken a real shower, slept in a real bed, or have eaten real food in the longest. I couldn't get us all of _those_ things, but I could still do something. I ran my fingers through Bria's wet, black hair and pulled out all of the knots. Her hair was naturally straight, so once her hair dried it _might_ be back to what it used to be. Then I used some of our stolen shampoo and let her wash her hair.

My hair, and Keyonna's, was different. Keyonna's hair was dreaded itself, so she wouldn't have to worry about unknotting it that much. She was done with her hair the quickest, and me, well, I took the longest. Even before this, I had the worst hair problems; constantly frizzy, knotted, and obviously that meant hard to brush. But that was okay. That didn't matter anymore.

Afterwards, we didn't want to waste shampoo so we only lathered up areas of our bodies that gave off the most stench. After the rain washed it all off, we took refuge under a tree and I took a nap while they were on watch. Out of all of us, I had been up the most during the whole trip and I was sure, even a little uneasy, that these girls knew how to hold off a few parasites, weapon or no weapon. While falling asleep, I saw them take out a small box and they each took two, translucent objects from it.

"What're you guys doing?"

They put each one into their eyes, blinked a little, and looked at me with a smile. They aimed a flashlight into their eyes so I could see.___Silver contacts! _"Wow, guys!!" I started laughing in delight. "That's genuis. I'll put in some of my own when I wake up. That's so awesome of you two."

It wasn't long before I woke up, though.

"Excuse me? Miss?"

I looked dizzily at the group of people standing over me. They were three.. or four? I couldn't tell, sleep was stronger than I was right now.

"We heard from a police officer that you were acting quite suspicious when he pulled you over. He said he saw red lights when his headlights hit you windows, and we would just like to see something.."

Fear caused me to wake up fully, but I refused to open my eyes. I knew that these men (or women, if I didn't see one) were possibly Seekers. _Where the hell were Bria and Keyonna?_

"Your car was black and had Ohio liscence plate 395168. We found your car on the side of the road a few miles back and followed you here. Just be calm and follow everything that we tell you to do." I felt him hovering over me and the sent of his breath on my face. I felt a hand reach down to my face and try to pull an eyelid open, the flashlight beaming red through my other closed eye.

Suddenly, I heard a sound so close to me that I jumped myself.

That sound was a female scream.


	3. Fear Takes Over

**Thank you for reading this far!! We're happy to know that you're enjoying **_**Humanocide**_**.**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

--

The scream pierced my soul, but as I jumped to my feet I realized it wasn't one of my siblings who released their vocalized pain. Keyonna had smashed - literally, broke - a truncheon over the female Seeker's head, and now she was laying on the ground with her skull in the same manner as the police stick. I shoved the man in front of me out of my way and turned the other way.

"RUN!!" I heard Bria scream her heart out and felt the prescence of more than two people behind me. Within seconds I saw Keyonna catching up to me, but Bria was nowhere to be seen. All I felt was my pulse reaching higher and thumping in my head and chest, the blood rushing through my veins, and the pitter-patter of my feet slamming into the ground in uneven, psychotic steps.

"You won't get away that easy!" The Seeker who I had pushed's voice boomed behind me closer than I thought, and then I felt Keyonna's hands at my back.

"MOVE KARA, MOVE!" She pushed me farther ahead and I stumbled while I heard a gun shot fly over my head. I climbed back to my feet as my heart stopped and forced me to run forward. Bria was still nowhere to be seen, but I sensed that she was close. I started dropping anything I had on that made it harder for me to run and speeded as quick as I could._ Bang!_ Another gunshot ripped through my ears and caused me to run beyond my limits._ Holy motherfucking shit, oh my fucking, OH MY GOD._ My mind was going crazy when more gunshots flew past us.

Nothing to say.

Nothing to think.

Just run.

_Just get away._

"SHIT!" I started screaming and lost all control of my body as the ground under my feet disappeared.

Then I fell under.

I could feel my body growing numb as my vision was covered with nothing but darkness. As hard as I could, I began flailing my limbs as if reaching for help, but there was no one who could've helped me. Bria was gone. _Splash. _I felt hands reach for me and screaming for me to calm down but I couldn't.

"KARA!!"

It was Keyonna.

"STOP KARA!! CALM DOWN! WE'RE SAFE!!"

But I was too messed up to think. To see. To _hear. _I couldn't swim, and I knew that Keyonna couldn't have held me up. A fourteen year old girl, as strong as she was, couldn't hold my seventeen year old body for long. Then we both felt light shining on us. I began to scream again as Keyonna dropped me to cover her own eyes from the blinding glare, and I began to fall.. and fall.. and fall..

I attempted to reach for the bracelet that Andy had sent me the year before and but it was in vain. I was too fatigued to realize that it was hanging by a thread off of my arm. But that didn't matter anymore. The darkness was taking over my body and I couldn't push anymore through it.

_Keyonna was letting me die... Bria was gone.. Andy would never see me.. but I guess it's okay. I mean, now I don't have to run away, right? Right?_

_I would never get to save other humans._


	4. Alive Again

**Hello again. Thank you for reading so much so far :) We both appreciate it.**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

**--**

"Kara? Please wake up! Are you alright? Please be okay!" The voice that was calling out to me seemed so familiar, but I knew I had never heard it in real life before. I heard a scratchy voice mumble under its breath and groan in pain. After a few minutes, I realized it was mine.

"Kara? Oh my God! Kara! Kara!!" "She's really waking up!!" "I know, I know, oh my God!" "Praise the Lord!"

I knew the second voice was clearly Keyonna. Every other voice was unfamiliar.. But that first voice.. I knew it and loved it so much.. Who was it.. I felt water fall out of my eyes and I whimpered in pain again. I started shaking uncontrollably and tried to breathe deeply but that just killed me more, making me suck on my teeth.

I felt someone kiss me on my forehead and two sets of tears dropping on the side of my face. Someone put their hand on my forehead and their face came close to mine. It was the familiar, unknown voice. "Look, Kara." He spoke very softly. "Please take as long as you want to open your eyes. I'm going to be right here the whole time. Forever, if I have to be." He kissed my forehead again and opened up my hand, placing something in it. It was semi-soaked, and it had cold metal on it that felt extremely familiar. I slowly curled my fingers around it, not caring what it was, and tried to open my eyes.

I barely opened them but in the two seconds that I did, I saw alot of unfamiliar faces.

"P-Please... D-d-don't hurt m-me.." My voice went shrilly with fear. I bet Keyonna and the familiar voice.. They were one of them.. That had to be it..

"They won't hurt you Kara! There's more of us! Nine other humans are here Kara! _Nine!_ We're okay!" I heard Keyonna's voice extremely close to mine. She grabbed my empty hand and patted me on my face. I opened my eyes a little bit wider this time.

"I can't.. Just let me rest.." Even though I said that, I still kept my eyes open.

"Maybe it's too overwhelming for her right now." Said another voice. Other voices mumbled in agreement.

"It wouldn't surprise me if her ass dies by tomorrow," said another. It was a male voice. "She breathed in too much water, man. Can't you see that? She can barely breathe." Then I heard the sound of someone's feet tripping over the ground. I didn't know whether it was Keyonna or Familiar who punched or shoved or whatever they did, but I assumed it was Familiar since I heard him say something quickly under his breath. Both of them left my hands to deal with the other guy.

"Please, c-c-ome... b-b-b-" Familiar returned and grabbed my hand. "Shh, baby. Don't speak. We're here for you."

"Listen, umm.. Kara? Keyonna and Sergio here saved you two days ago, and they want to tell you everything that happened. If you can hear me, please make any noise." A new voice, which reminded me of a mother, spoke to me very kindly. I made a little, childlike noise from the back of my throat and I felt her smile at me. "Good. Keyonna, why don't you start?"

"Alright! Look, Kara. First off, I'm sorry for dropping you in the water like that, but Mr. I'm-Gonna-Burn-Your-Eyes-Out-" "Hey, I didn't mean to!" Said Familiar. "Because he thought we were aliens hiding from him! Why would we be hiding from him, you ask? Because he was the one who shot those Seekers who were chasing us! That's right! The gunshots you heard, if you heard them, I'm not sure since you were underwater, but the gunshots that you heard while you were in the water was the one and only, Andy!! And then he flashed the light in my eyes to - "

My heart jumped along with my body and I shouted, "Wait!!" But it only made me cough harder. _He_ was the familiar voice. I started crying with happiness as I realized this and felt my body go numb in excitement. This was _unbelievable._

"Hey, hey, HEY! Let me finish talking while you rest, okay? Jeez! Anyway, so Andy shined the light in my eyes and ordered me to open them. Lucky for us, he didn't aim the gun at me, because we know I would've hurt him so bad.." I heard her give him a playful punch. "And I screamed at him to help me, that I'm obviously not a body snatcher, and that you needed help. But you know! I didn't know that it was him, since I rarely ever saw pictures of him and I only spoke to him once, you know, that time when I was on the phone at your house with you guys? So then he jumped into the water and we helped pull you out, and he told me everything and we brung you here!!"

I heard her add a little giggle at the end of her story and thought about all of the questions I would want to ask. I constantly made up questions until I felt myself falling asleep.

Where was here? When will I get better?What are we gonna do _when_ I get better?

_Where is Bria?_


	5. Hushed Affection

**Sorry if the last chapter and the next few are a bit slow for your tastes. Just keep reading, everyone! We don't think you'll be disappointed :)**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

**Thanks to Kid Phazon and ShannaroSaku-chan for each contributing two names for all of the new characters!**

**--**

"Mmm..." I shuffled around and I knew for a fact that I was awake with my eyes closed. I felt someone squeeze my hand. It was Familiar again. Andy.

"Kara? Are you awake now?"

I smiled to hear his voice. "I think so." My voice was still a bit sore, but it was fine enough to speak.

"It feels so nice to see you smile.." His voice trailed off and I felt his hands touch my face. "I don't think this will ever feel real," he whispered. "Can you open your eyes for me?" He cupped my face with his hands and rubbed his thumbs down my cheeks. I opened up my eyes and got to really look into his face for the first time.

"You're so.. beautiful." I whispered, tracing his facial features with my eyes. His skin was tan with a tint of yellow and he had dark brown, almond-shaped eyes. His black hair was longer than I remembered from the pictures, but it was only because I didn't had any contact with him in almost 5 months. His face was stretched in a wide, open-mouth smile that was _always, _only meant for me. Either way he looked, he was still Andy. He was now _mine._

"I've been thinking the same thing for the past two-and-a-half days, love." My heart fluttered. He called me that for the first _real_ time.

"Oh, Andy!" I threw my arms around his neck and laid my cheek against his, closing my eyes. "I love you so much." I whispered.

"I love you too, Kara." I loved the way he said my name. He said it with an accent, in a way that it sounded like there was an E in the first syllable of my name. I heard him sniffle a bit while he kissed my cheek over and over again. "I'm so happy you're safe."

I cleared my throat a bit. "Me too." I opened my eyes and searched my surroundings. The room had very dim lighting and was very miniscule compared to the room that I first woke up in. _Wait... where was that room?_ This room seemed more like living quarters than a... hall was it? I tried to think what we were laying on. _A bed!_ It was my first time on a bed in _forever._

"Is this heaven, Andy?"

He chuckled. "It's close enough." He held me tighter and rolled me on top of him, to my surprise.

"Whoa!" I giggled a bit and then rested my chin on his chest and looked at him. "So where am I?"

"You're in the remains of an orphanage that was part of a church that was once called St. Joseph's. To be even more specific, you're in _your _lover's arms in _our_ room." He smiled and I stared at him in even more surprise back.

"What?" I started laughing. "Are you serious? Really serious?! Oh my God, Andy, that's amazing!" _They've been safe here for a long time. I know it._

He started laughing with me. "I better show you around soon then. You have alot of people to meet and quite a few places to go! Well, not exactly since they're all in this one place, but," He chuckled again. "You know what I mean." He lifted me up along with his body and we were sitting up on the bed within seconds. "Here we go!" He picked me up bridal style, making me smile as wide as I could, and put me down near the door.

"Ladies first."

"Why, thank you." I started walking ahead when he grabbed my wrist and turned me back around, pulling me into a passionate kiss. He held onto my hands and molded his lips and body with mine; pulling me ever so closer with each passing second. I could barely think or breathe. This moment was something that I had looked forward to for two long years._ For my whole life._ I never thought that I would've ever felt this way when our lives were so close to ending at any and every single moment, but I was _happy._ I squeezed his hands harder and exhaled deeply through my nose, taking in every taste and scent.

His hand rubbed my left wrist and he broke free of our first kiss, whispering. "Do you feel empty without it there?"

"No.." I shuddered. "Well, yes. But I have you now."

He lifted his face up and down my neck, slowly breathing in my own scent. "Do you wonder where it went?"

"Yeah, it was.." Sudden realization poured despair all over me. "It's in the.. the lake.."

He chuckled softly, raising goosebumps wherever his face glided over. "Wrong." He raised a hand to my hair and tugged slightly on what was holding my ponytail. It came loose along with my hair, and he hung it in front of my face. I gasped in shock that it had survived through everything it went through! Our bracelet was orginally connected by five small loops of metal (the chain) and on each end was a long, gray/brown leather-like material. They met around on the other side with a small, rusty clip. Now, the clip was gone and some of the leather was torn, but it was still able to tie together. He lifted my hair back up and fixed it so the chain would be visible from the outside. Then he grabbed my hand.

"Ready for the tour?"

I smiled and kissed him on the lips for a few seconds. "Now I'm ready." He smiled widely and we left the room. There was no door, but there were hinges in the walkway. Obviously, _something_ removed it forcefully. Maybe _somebody_ was hiding in the room._ Somebody who's nobody now._

I looked down the hall to the left of us. There were eight or nine other rooms, most likely bedrooms. To our right was a hall that turned in the oddest way imaginable. It was somewhat.. tilted. The walkway moved upward and constantly tilted to the right, so that if you were looking at it, the hallway was almost sideways. Again at the end, it reversed and turned back to the normal, right-side up state. It was still capable of walking, though.

"Our friends live down there," he said, pointing to the obvious rooms. "Almost everyone has their own room. Melissa and Christian share their room, because they're married. Melissa was the one talking to you when you awoke for the first time," he mentioned. "The room next door is Lacie and Sarah's -"

"Sarah?" I knew Sarah was his sister's name, but I couldn't be sure if it was her.

He smiled wide again. "Yes, it _is_ Sarah_._ I know you've wanted to meet her for the longest." He squeezed my hand tighter.

"The next rooms aren't shared. They belong to Sam, Latisha, Roger, Kenneth, and of course, Keyonna." He smiled and I realized why.

"I knew you had to be up by now, Kara!" Keyonna came over to us and gave me a _huge_ hug. I glomped her back, laughing and smiling.

"Thanks, Keyonna. I'm really happy you're alright." I gave her another tight hug and we high-fived each other. I turned back to Andy and smiled as well, grabbing his hand again. "Can someone tell me, how the _hell_ do we get out of this place through_ that_?"

I looked up the twisting hallway and felt a little nervous.

"It's easier than you think!!" Exclaimed Keyonna. She must've really liked the small intermission between this place and the Church. It did seem pretty cool, though!

"Come on, we'll show you!" Andy pulled me and we stepped into the hallway. "Hold onto the railing until you get used to the feel, okay? Once you're used to it, you won't even notice how it's tilted." He winked and pulled me up. I slipped a little bit from the steep and awkwardness of the hall, but atleast I had Keyonna behind me to catch me if I fell.

"So why is this hallway like this?" I said, stumbling a bit and reaching for the railing, but caught Andy's hand instead. Instinct.

"Who knows? We think it was some sort of earthquake or something that caused the ground to shift -"

"Wait, wait, wait." They both looked at me while we were walking. We were slowly turning back upwards, but we still had a little ways to go. "We're underground?"

Keyonna laughed and Andy chuckled; two noises that I loved to hear that I knew I would be hearing here for a long time. "Yes, Kara. We're going to be above ground soon, though. You'll see."

We were now standing upright, but my legs were still a little shaky. "I guess the Church was protecting the orphanage then, weren't they?"

"Most likely." Nod and smile.

We were very close to end of the twisted hallway, which ended with a short staircase going upward, and doors resembling a basement entrance were at the top.

"And this..." He opened the doors, releasing bright, blinding, afternoon sunshine into the underground tunnel.

"This is our home."

--


	6. The Church

**Hi everyone! Sorry for taking so long to add a new chapter. We know how the story will end, we're just thinking of things that will happen inbetween. Please keep reading!**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

**P.S. The Andy in this story is **_**not**_** the same Andy from the book.**

**--**

As Andy opened the door and we stepped into the light of the sanctuary, the reality of how many people were here really hit me.

"Oh my God.." I mouthed, as the group called out to us.

"Hey there!" "Finally, you're awake!" "My, my, what a beautiful girl." "Good thing she's awake now."

They all gathered around me, smiling and all speaking with me at the same time. There were six people here; a black girl who looked about Keyonna's age, an older woman with strawberry-blonde hair, an even older man with a bible under his arm, a middle aged man with glasses, a young man who's barely reached adulthood, and the youngest girl of the whole group with black hair was easily identifiable as Sarah.

"Welcome to your new home, Kara." "We're very glad to have you here with us."

All of the faces around me were smiling, like mine. This was.. _unbelievable._ Everyone formed a group hug around me as I started crying. There were _eight_ humans_,_ _eight_ of my kind_, eight_ who I belonged with, physically in front of me, physically holding me._ This is the best day of my life._

"T-thank you, everyone. S-s-so m-much.." I started stuttering over my tears and I felt someone's hand rub my back. It was the strawberry-blonde woman, whose hair was in a loose ponytail.

"Of course, Kara, dear. We're your _family._"

Her one statement made me blubber over my own words more. Someone handed me a tissue and everyone took a step back as I wiped my face. "I'm s-sorry. I'm just so, so -" I let out a small laugh. "Happy." Everyone smiled and nodded in understanding. They all went through this, either in the role of the weeper or of the embracer.

"I guess we should have some proper introductions, now," said the bible man.

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry!" I perked up and straightened myself out, folding my arms behind my back. "I'm Kara, I'm seventeen, and I came from New York along with Keyonna -" I gestured towards her with my eyes. "and my sister Bria." I felt a heavy feeling in my chest. "I'm hoping maybe one day we can all find her. And as for Andy, well.." I smiled and lowered my head in minor nervousness as to what they would say. "He's been my boyfriend for almost two years, even though we met for the first time this morning. Or yesterday, or something."

I assumed everyone already knew about that since no one questioned, just welcomed me into their home._ Our home_.

"I'm Melissa. It's a pleasure to have you here, Kara." Melissa was the strawberry-blonde woman. She didn't look too old, but it was obvious she was aged. My thought was answered within seconds. "I'm forty-nine years old and I own this Church with my husband. You can call me whatever you like; everyone calls me Mom or Mel, so you can pick whatever you prefer." She gave me a smile and patted my hand.

The girl who looked Keyonna's age came next. She grabbed my hands and gave me a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Hey there! I'm Latisha, and if you ever need anything, you can always ask me for help, girl. I may be younger than most of everybody here, but I'm just as strong, so you can count on me!" She lifted her hand up for a high five and I returned it, turning to the next person.

This next guy was the one who looked barely older than me. "Hey. I'm Roger, and you'll usually see me doing some physical work. That's what I'm known for," He said, with a wink and a flex of his muscle. I started laughing and he did as well, giving me a playful punch. "If you see me anywhere else, I'm with Lacie." I looked around to identify the girl known as Lacie, who shared her room with Sarah, but Sarah was the only other girl in the room.

"Lacie's not here. She's in the kitchen, eating."

"Oh. I'll go meet her later, then." I smiled and nodded towards the next person, who I learned was Christian, Melissa's husband and the owner of the Church.

"It's very pleasant to have you here, Kara. Thank God for saving your soul."

"Thank you, Christian." I smiled at him, nodding as I was cut short by Sarah.

"Hi there, Kara!!" She gave me another hug and smiled at me. "You remember me, right? From Andy's videos!!" Last year, when I saw Sarah, she was nine years old. Now she was ten, which wouldn't have been much of a big deal to most people if our lives weren't at stake everyday. "Maybe you can help Lacie and Kenneth to be nicer to everyone else. Well, maybe just Kenneth, because Lacie is nice, she's just really quiet."

Everyone started dragging me to different parts of the Church, even though most of them were in the same room. There were a few rooms in the back, such as the confessionary which was changed into two bathrooms with a wall inbetween each toilet, and a room that I figured would be storage. Clothes, books, CD's, paper plates, tissue, blankets and sheets, everything we would need to live could be found here. The other room was the Kitchen. It was pretty huge, enough to believe that another room was torn down to make room, and it was in there that I found Lacie, Kenneth, and another man I found out to be named Sam.

"Hello there. What's your name?"

The young girl looked at me wearily. She took off a very small bit of her slice of bread and chewed on it in inaudible bites. I reached my hand out to her, and she backed up cautiously.

"Please, don't be afraid. I'm new here, and I would like it if I got to make friends with you."

She looked up at me with her huge, blue eyes. She reminded me of a starving puppy, and I barely knew her. Kenneth, who appeared to be in his early thirties, already had negative feelings about me.

"Why would she want to talk to you?"

Lacie looked at him sadly and looked back at me. She shook her head and handed me a piece of her bread.

"Aw, thank you." I popped the little soft ball of crumbs into my mouth and waited for her to answer. Sam, a friendly guy who used to own a grocery store in the town nearby, was making some food. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious.

"Lacie doesn't speak at all. When we want to communicate with her, she'll tell us with gestures. You'll get used to it." He smiled at me and poured some sauce on the plate where Lacie's bread was. She dipped more of the bread into the sauce and slid the plate over to me.

"Is that true, Lacie?" I said, while dipping my own piece of bread into the sauce. She nodded very softly while looking down at her plate. I lifted up her chin so she can see into my eyes. "Well, listen. You can take as long as you want to speak, nobody will force you. Okay? I'll make sure no one will." I smiled while her face expression grew softer.

"Hmph. You don't even know the girl." With that, Kenneth jumped out of his chair, pushing it to the floor, and left the room.

Later that night at dinner, all of us were sitting in a circle - some on the floor; some on pews - as if it were a family reunion and everyone was there to share all of the joys and miseries that they had experienced since the last time they saw each other. Family stories, school stories, work stories, survival stories - of course, all from the past.

At the end of the party, Christian stood up and took a sip from his glass.

"Remember everyone, that every moment of our lives from the moment that _they_ arrived, have been given by God. He is the one who allows us to survive everyday in His home, where _they, _the ones who don't have a God, will never stray for any reason. It is under His protection that we are still here. Why we were chosen over our brethren, we do not know, and will not know, but through His blessings we will continue to prosper and create a new world!"

He raised his glass into the air and took in a breath of air, and shouted,

"To God!"

Everyone did the same and all nodded, some calling out 'Amen.' I followed along in my own way, but I knew one thing. Even though _they_ didnt need God, I'm sure that besides each other,

_God was all we had right now._

--


	7. Infiltration

**Hey there! Action's back now, so I hope you've been keeping up with the story!**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

**Thank you!**

**--**

I fanned myself with my hand in the heat of the mid-west. Our car had no air conditioning, and the four of us were cramped inside; Andy, Keyonna, Roger, and I. We were on our first raid together, but I had my own idea. On the way, we would go through some healing facilities - I had learned many more things about them than I knew existed about the souls - in order to find Bria. The souls discarded bodies that were considered 'defected,' so I was hoping maybe we could find Bria somewhere. Or maybe she didn't become one at all but escaped and just nearby somewhere.

"I think I'm gonna take a nap until we get there. Who wants the wheel?" Roger was the one who said that. He was at wheel because he was the oldest and most experienced at driving at twenty-two years old. Keyonna was already sleeping in the back, she had participated in a few house raids earlier and was worn out.

"I'll take it!" Andy said quickly, right before I did, and climbed into the front. I was already in the front since our escape from the last house we visited, so when Andy buckled himself in, I rested a hand on his leg and we drove away. We caught each other's glances every few seconds with a smile and looked back towards the road.

"You know, love. _I'm_ the one who's had more driving experience. I think I should take the wheel."

He laughed. "Oh really? Too bad, because I'm gonna be the one riding you around."

"What was_ that _supposed to be, some sort of sexual innuendo?" I replied, grinning back.

"Maybe." He said, smirking. I gave him a squeeze on the leg and then changed the subject. "What's it going to be like.. when we raid the facility?"

His facial expression quickly changed to a smug one. "We have to sneak in after dark. There aren't alot of emergencies for their species, so they usually just stay open at night-time while the lights are off. It might be easy, it might be hard. Sometimes Healers stay there just to keep watch, so we have to be careful. One of us goes in and searches, while someone else goes in and is what you would say.. 'back up.' Protection. In this case, that would be you, and me." He glanced over at me and smiled. "Roger's going to keep the car, of course. And Keyonna can help him out if someone approaches him, considering her strength."

I nodded all throughout his story, taking in everything he said. "So where are we going before then?"

"Just a few stores. We're gonna get clothes and new blankets and sheets for everybody."

"That's nice."

"Yeah." He smiled without taking his eyes off the road.

I looked toward the window as I thought about something I hadn't for a very, long time.

"Hey, Andy?"

"Yeah?"

"One day, when this all ends.." I took a quick swig of my gatorade. "Let's start our future together. You know, the one we were looking forward to. Writing music and making videogames together, and having alot of children and getting married and living in a huge house."

He smiled, but out of the corner of my eyes I could've sworn he was tearing a bit. So was I.

"Okay, Kara. Alright."

I bit my lip. "If we can't do that, then we'll go along and build our future on the way. And during the lives that we have right now, no matter how short or long it will be, we have to make this world a better place. I want our children to live as safe as they can and have the lives that we _should've_ had." I wiped my eyes of the straying tears and continued speaking. "I hope that, over time, there will be many other places like our Church. And if there isn't, then I want the Church to grow so powerful with human strength that we can get our planet back. I know we're not the only ones out there anymore, I'm almost certain, but I'm just wishing we could go through this whole thing without killing anyone."

I leaned on him and sighed until the rough feeling was out of my chest.

His voice was a little shaky. "I know, love. We can do it.. We just have to hope for the best. And Kara... Now that I have the chance.." He gulped and tilted his head to the side on top of my shoulder-rested head. "If anything - and I mean_ anything_ - ever hurts you, or tries to hurt you, or even _thinks_ about hurting you, that human or animal _or_ extra-terrestrial is gonna have to deal with me. I'm never losing the chance to protect you, Kara. I couldn't protect you over the one-and-a-half years that we were together long distance, but I'm going to protect you now. And in the future, I'm going to protect our family too. I won't let you have any worries and I'll take away all of your fears. I love you very much, Kara."

I looked up at him and kissed him on his neck. "I love you too, Andy." I kissed him again and again, happy that I had gotten the chance to be with him, even when the world ended.

"This is it." Said Andy, our car parked stealthily around the healing facility, also known as the hospital. There were lights on in most rooms, and every now and then a truck would leave from the back and drive off into the distance. Keyonna and Roger rolled down their windows as we stepped out. The windows of this car were tinted, so anyone from the outside wouldn't be able to see inside. Good.

Roger threw a handgun at me. "Holy shit!" I panicked and dodged the lethal weapon, letting it hit to the ground.

"Kara! What if that would've made enough noise for them to hear us? Damn!" Roger leaned out the window a bit to pick it up off the floor, but then gave up. Andy picked it up instead.

"You want _me_ to use something that can_ kill _for self defense?" I exclaimed, unbelieving the object on the floor.

"You don't have to kill them with it, you know. Just paralyze them."

"You make it sound like its the easiest, most safest thing in the world! I'm not killing anything, I'm just looking for my sister!"

Roger sighed, Keyonna bit a nail, and Andy looked at me solemnly. I guess they've already went through raids together before.

"Look, Kara.." Said Andy after they all stared at me for a moment. "This is only assuring that you won't become one of them. If you want, you don't have to use the gun. You know I'll protect you." He picked up the gun and handed it back to Roger. "Here, we don't need it." Roger nodded understandingly and passed the gun to Keyonna. She looked in shock.

"But-"

"Don't worry, Keyonna. We'll be fine." He gave her a thumbs up and I waved bye to both of them.

"Bye, guys!"

We walked towards a door that said exit on the front. It was on the back side of one of the towers of the hospital. Andy pulled out a small machine and I knew instantly that it was a stun gun. _Where the hell do they get this all from?_ He knocked on the door a few times, louder and louder, until we heard someone from the inside. "Okay, okay! Jesus, can you get louder, by any chance?" A woman in scrubs stepped through the door with a cigarette in her mouth. Andy stuck the taser into her and it sent her body into a state of shock, knocking her onto the ground, speechless. I stared back.

"Did you seriously have to do that?" I said, shivering.

Andy grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the staircase. "Yeah, or else we would've been caught. Don't worry, she'll be okay. She'll only be asleep for a little while." We ran up four flights and climbed through a door into a hall labelled 'Human Containment, Insertion Ward'. Our footsteps echoed like a light turning on in darkness, conspicuous and seen by all. However, no matter what room we checked, Bria's body would never be found. That was because, Bria was not here.

Nor was she in the next facility.

Or the next one.

Same with the facility two states over.

We just had to assume she was dead.

--


	8. Fun and Cake

**Sorry for taking so long! I hope you've been keeping up.**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

**Thank you!**

**--**

The unfinding of Bria continued to drain away at my body as the days went on and on. Everyone tried their best to cheer me up, but I couldn't help but feel depressed as soon as Andy or someone else came home as the bearer of bad news. Every single moment gave me another reason to believe that Bria was gone and never to be found. But eventually it stopped hurting.

Atleast when my mind wasn't on it.

We all naturally became happier after my depression deceased, and the unity we had only began to get stronger. The days grew into May, and all of us began to get closer. Every day together was extremely long but we made every moment worthwhile by always finding things to do in the Church. All of us had equal chores - cleaning, cooking, finding food, the usual - and all of us found ways to entertain another - with the usual stories, made up stories, singing and reading - and we lived together peacefully. Kenneth was the only one who seemed to grow more far away, and he now went on raids more than everyone else just to get away from us.

One time, I overheard Melissa speaking with Latisha in the kitchen. We had dinner late that day, so everyone went off to bed after they had their share of food. I was washing the dishes in the next room over.

"...Kara and Sergio's been getting very close lately, you know?"

I heard a mini-freezer open up and the sound of trays being put away was heard. "Yeah, everyone sees it. They've gotten... _really_ serious."

"I think they know what they're doing, they're smart kids. If something does happen, atleast they can pull through together."

"That isn't what I meant."

"Oh? Then what?"

Latisha sighed. "I think they should wait before they do anything.. 'crazy.' Like, 'It's the end of the world, let's make the best of it-' crazy. Haven't you noticed?"

Melissa's voice was painted with wonder. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see one day."

"I hope you're not becoming another Kenneth."

Latisha laughed, mockingly. "Are you serious? They're like my best friends, Andy and Kara. I love them."

I would've listened more but just then, Andy's arms wrapped around my waist and he kissed me on my cheek.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hi, there," I said, grinning and drying up a plate with the rag.

He whispered into my ear and I closed my eyes, taking in every word. "Last night was beautiful."

I took a deep breath and wrapped my arms around his. "I know."

I turned around and started leaning against the sink, all of the passion from the night before rising back up for the night returning. I held onto his hands that were now on both of my sides gripping the counter, kissing him softly yet lustfully, my fingers pulling at his recently washed hair. "You went in the shower without me?"

"I'm sorry. We can go again later," He said, his hands carressing my hips. "Let's just go back to the room now."

I tried to turn back around to finish the dishes but I was easily distracted as he touched me all over my body, and he still kept at it even as I splashed water at him.

I grabbed the faucet hose and aimed it at him. "If you touch me one more time, I swear I'm going to do it."

He came even closer. "You wouldn't." He said, grinning.

"Try me." I leaned back to get farther away, forgetting that the faucet handles were behind me. The hose let off an explosion of water and in an instant, we were both soaked and laughing it up. He pointed at my soaked shirt and tilted his head to the side.

"Can I use that to dry myself?" He grinned as I muttered shut up under my smile. I walked over to him and tried to plant a kiss on him, but instead he put on hand on my back and used his other arm to lift me up by my legs; bridal style.

"Wait!" I said, laughing. "Let's take a shower first." We were already walking through the twisted path and down into the sleeping quarters. He pushed our door open with his leg, carrying me over to the bed.

"We just took a shower, remember?"

--

Each day continued on and on without finding Bria, without getting caught. It was now June, and the Church was bustling about for a special day - Keyonna's birthday.

We didn't prepare this in surprise though. The Church was too small; Keyonna already knew what to expect and even started preparing for it herself.

"Okay, guys! So what should we do today?"

The six girls of the Church, including me, were all huddled together in the kitchen. It was June seventh, the day before Keyonna's birthday. Melissa and Latisha already had some things cooking, Lacie was cleaning and setting up a table in the sermon room - which she did by herself, she still hasn't talked to us but she's certainly sweeter - Sarah helped decorate everything with 'Happy Birthday!' sheets and strips to hang off of the walls (which were acquired very strangely, considering we had no idea that birthdays existed in the new world) and Keyonna made her cake by her own request. And me? Well, I ran around and tried my best to help everyone, but it wasn't exactly that easy.

"I think we should - Oh boy, hold -"

I only made it halfway out of the room before I barfed all over the floor. "Fuck..." I mumbled, and I threw up again.

Melissa looked over her shoulder while rolling up the dough in her powdery hands. "Are you okay there, honey? It's been doing that all day, huh?"

Lacie came over and wiped up my stomach remains while patting my back. I nodded weakly and laid down on the floor, my face hitting the cold yet nice-feeling ground.

"You should get some rest, girl." Said Latisha. She walked over and set a glass of water down by me and went back to her station. I felt everyone's eyes on me as I stared at the water, hesitating to move or not.

"Just... Keep working guys. I'll be there in a second." I felt the eyes staring at me fill with sympathy while they continued working. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Poor Kara."

"She's really sick, you know? It's so horrible that we don't have medicine..."

I heard a fist bang on the table. I knew it was Keyonna's. "Don't talk about her like that! Back in New York, Kara never had medicine when she was sick! Trust me, she'll be perfectly fine. Nausea? Tch. Kara's a trooper, right Kara?"

I gave a short thumbs up and let my hand collapse to the floor. Everyone laughed and I even smiled a bit myself. A few minutes passed like that until it became nighttime, and I was no longer in the kitchen but in my room. I looked at the clock. Ten fifty-eight. I climbed up to the sanctuary, hearing the echo of everybody's voices from the kitchen.

"Good evening, sleepy head!" "Hey there!" "Feeling better?" "Finally, you're up!"

I smiled apologetically and looked around to see what everyone was doing. Pretty much cleaning up and resting after a days work. Keyonna was the only one still working, as she was adding the finishing touches to her beautiful cake. It had 3 sections like a traditional wedding cake except it had 5 candles on each oval of icing. All of the guys were home too, which I realized after a few moments.

"KARA!" Andy jumped up from his seat at the cake table excitedly and worriedly at the same time.

A mistake.

Keyonna's cake toppled along with the table and fell to the floor, smushed under the plastic silverware, Andy frozen mid-stride. Keyonna stared in the most horror compared to everyone else.

"Keyonna... I'm _so_ sorry..." Andy said, shocked at the accident he caused. "I promise that I'll make you ano-"

"No!" Keyonna balled her hands up into a fist and stared at the destruction of her masterpiece. She started growling a bit under her breath. "You..." She dropped to the floor and dug her fingers into the sweetness. "BASTARD!!" She picked up a snowball of cake and forced it into his face.

Within seconds, the Kitchen became the living memory of a middle school cafeteria.

"CAKE FIGHT!!"

Everyone tossed cake towards each other, messing up clothes, hair, and everything inbetween. I tried my best to climb behind a counter and hide, but I slipped on some icing and fell onto someone. They smashed all of the cake onto my chest and pushed me off, running for refuge before I caught them back.

Keyonna picked up the largest globs and climbed on top of a table. She pointed at Andy.

"Happy Birthday to me... Happy Birthday to me... It's my special day.. and not Andy's!" She took out her stronger, left hand and tossed it at him with the arm of a baseball player, and hopped back to the ground. We all heard an unfamiliar sound, definitely laughing, but we were unsure who and where it was coming from. Everyone stopped tossing their food and looked. Near to Keyonna was Lacie, cracking up to either what Keyonna said or what Keyonna did.

Everyone began to laugh along with her and the fight resumed on an even happier note. I walked over to Andy who was hiding under a table and started kissing him happily. Until, that is, someone turned over the table and poured juice onto us. It was Christian, who was accompanied by a cake-wielding Sarah. "Caught you guys!"

More cake was hurled at us as everyone scattered all over again. People took a breather from their giggling while others started eating the cake off of their fingers.

"I guess.. we should.. eat now." Said Keyonna, panting.

Everyone agreed and ate cake from every surface visible; the tables, the counters, the floor, each other. It didn't matter either way, we were all happy and safe. One simple party can have the ability to save everybody's mentality, even for a short while. But it's worth it.

Keyonna lifted up a piece of cake.

"For Bria."

Everyone nodded and lifted up cake.

"For Bria, for our families, for our friends, and for everybody who weren't lucky enough to find this beautiful place."

Everyone said the same and ate their cake. Except me, of course. I had another plan.

I cleared my throat. "And this..." I lifted up my cake and glanced at the clock. It would be twelve oclock, June eighth, within fourteen seconds. "This is for you, Keyonna. For you to have a wonderful birthday and thanking you for every single thing you've done for us. For all us."

I sighed and scooted over next to her. "Happy.. BIRTHDAY!!" I smeared some of my cake onto her face and stuffed the rest into my mouth. "You know," I said, mouth full, "I don't even eat cake, so you're lucky I love you this much." I said, grinning with the cake swelling up inside my cheeks under the commotion of others exclaiming their happy birthday's.

The rest of the night continued to be like that, staying up and partying for Keyonna. We re-lit all of her candles in an uncut loaf of freshly cooked bread and sang happy birthday to her, our dear friend. Even though life outside wasn't perfect, this was the best thing in the world for us. We all believed that this life would never change, but we wouldn't mind.

We won't let it change.


	9. Things Change in Time

**I bet you this chapter won't surprise you! We're close to the end, guys!**

**A) All of the characters (as of now) are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

**Thank you!**

--

"Latisha? Sarah?" I called out louder. "Keyonna!" Five months had passed since Keyonna's birthday. It was November now, the winds horribly strong and the snow beginning to fall. Thanksgiving was within the week, and all of the young men - Andy, Roger, and Sam - were on a raid for the food we needed. The rest of us were here at home, preparing for the great holiday and depending on it to bring together our 'family' - Kenneth was still against making any contact with us. I found out why that day.

"Guys! Look! Hurry!" I said louder, the girls scrambling from their rooms into mine. I sat up and rested my hands on my stomach, feeling the motion inside. They ceased their actions as soon as the other girls approached. Their excited voices did not falter, even when they knew the movements had passed.

"I _seriously_ can't wait!" Said Latisha, sitting on the edge of my bed with her legs folded. Sarah was leaning forward on the bed from the end, anticipating the moment to feel the child that was making her an aunt. Keyonna was laying on her side, on my left, propping her face up with her hands. Lacie was sitting, obediently - she was by my side whenever Andy wasn't, and even then, she was always there somehow - watching with her smile. She still hadn't begun to speak, but she was trying. I had faith in her.

"I'm sorry you guys missed it," I said, truly sad that they missed it. Besides myself, Andy was the only other person who felt our child atleast once. But that's not a problem - the baby will be apart of the family here at the Church. _Our _family.

"It's okay," they all said, atleast something along the lines. The four of them continued to hang out until they had their own things to do - everyone made me stay in bed no matter what - except Lacie; she sat down with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on them, watching me.

I smiled at her. She smiled back.

Our days went in complete silence after I ran out of things to talk about with her, but that was okay. We still bonded, somehow.

She looked like she was thinking hard about something. "What is it?" I said, encouragement raging in my eyes.

She slightly opened her mouth, and then closed it again. I nodded for her to continue. I felt just as excited as they were a few moments before.

"W-W-Wha-" - I nodded, smiling widely - "What are you..." - She trailed off, perhaps surprised by the sound of her own, petite voice, still holding the fear of escape from her childhood - "What do you want t-t-t..." She broke off and left her question hanging. I had an idea of what she might be asking me, so I answered both.

"I don't know whether I want to have a girl or boy," I said, my voice getting higher with happiness, "but if I have a girl, I would like to name her Vanesse, and if I have a boy, I'll let Andy name it, but I think Julius is a nice name. I don't know, I'm not as good with boy names as with girls." I added, a bit embarassed for talking her ear off.

But that didn't stop her.

"Those are nice names... Kara," She spoke slowly, sounding out my name for the first time.

I beamed at her, and opened my arms for a hug. She leaned down - I had never sat up - and laid her head on my chest beneath mine, hugging me tightly. I think she might've started crying a little bit when I embraced her back.

My assumptions were correct. "Thank y-you...," She said, almost too quiet for me to hear. "You've been a great mom."

Now it was _my _turn to cry. My eyes welled up as I smiled; even though she couldn't see it, I'm sure she was able to feel the lift in my face. I didn't know what to say, so I just smoothed out her hair with my right and held her with my left.

"I want to start over."

I nodded. "From when?" We all knew what time to expect.

Her answer surprised me. "From when I first came to The Church." I stared in awe; my hands stopped moving and pretty much my whole body. She looked up at me confused, but then continued talking anyway. "I want... t-to start _again_. Talk to everyone. I feel like... I wasted alot... of..."

"Time?" I said, cutting her off. "Opportunities?" I thought about her age and wondered if she knew what that meant.

"Chances, yeah. Chances to be... _close _to everybody." She sighed and closed her eyes as she struggled for words.

I smiled at her warmly. Motherly. "It's never too late to start over."

I think she searched her mind for some memories. "Never... too... late?" She looked so sad while announcing this.

I nodded. "Never too late."

She nodded back, and repeated the phrase over and over. I think she was giving herself hope. We continued making little conversation until someone - Melissa - called her up to the kitchen.

"Bye," she whispered. She turned around to leave, but I got up. The bedsprings creaked.

"Wait," I said, holding onto my stomach. "I want some fresh air, too." I smiled at her and lifted up my hand. She grabbed it loyally and helped me get to the first floor. All of the girls were preparing for the return of the boys; Christian was reading his bible; and Kenneth of course, was by himself where nobody could make contact with him.

Sarah called from around the kitchen entrance to Lacie and Christian that it was time to eat lunch - Kenneth wouldn't respond, while I get everything handed to me on a silver platter - and they made their leave. I took a seat on a pew and sighed, holding my stomach.

"I hate people like you."

I turned around quickly, offended at the phrase that spilled out of the middle-aged man's mouth. "What did you just say?" I said, for once showing intentional anger.

He turn his cold eyes toward me, speaking louder. "I _hate_ people like _you_" - He spat out the side of his mouth - "Who come to our church and make us even more obvious. How are we going to survive if more people keep coming here?" He said, speaking in a normal tone, but rude enough to be a shout.

Keyonna came with my lunch and sat down next to me innocently; she had no idea what was going on. "Here, Kara," she said, with a smile.

He looked at Keyonna too, pointing into his face. "I hate you, too! Always so happy and looking for more people to bring!" He glanced at me. "And you, if you wouldn't have spread your legs, then maybe -"

"Now just hold on a minute!" Keyonna said, her voice rising. She stomped over to him and gave him a shove. "Listen, you bastard. If you want to keep harrassing us, go ahead, but I think you better go do it in the mirror, to someone who actually _cares._"

He looked at her in shock, and shoved her back. She caught herself on the pew.

"Keyonna!" I shouted, reaching for her, but she was already up by the time my hands made it over to her. Everybody came running as soon as she was about to throw herself at him. I didn't notice but the guys were standing in the door. Well, Sam was. Andy and Roger were running over to see what was up. Especially Roger.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" He said, pushing him and grabbing Keyonna's hand. "Are you okay?" He mumbled, staring into her eyes.

She gave him a one-armed hug and then cracked her knuckles. "I'm fine! Perfect," she said in a cheery tone, cracking her neck. "Just about to kick someone's ass!" She said, pushing through everybody to go get Kenneth. People tried pulling her away. Andy came over to me and gave me a huge embrace. It's been more than 3 weeks since I've seen him, but right now was not the time a huge lovey-dovey moment.

"Keyonna, stop!" Was heard in the group, along with other kinds of phrases to indicate to her to back off.

She backed off and wiped her brow. "Why should I? Do you want to know what this asshole just said to Kara?"

Everyone looked at me.

I looked down, trying to find my words. "It's okay," Andy whispered. I nodded.

"He told me he hated me for bringing more people to our church. Saying that we were making it less safe. And the fact that I'm pregnant only makes things worse." By the end of my answer, I was about to burst into tears. Damn pregnancy hormones.

Everyone gasped and started approaching Kenneth, yelling at him for what he had said. Even peaceful Christian had something to say about it.

I didn't want to deal with it anymore so I went to the kitchen. Andy, Keyonna, Lacie, and Sarah followed. I laid my head on my arms on the table and sighed.

"Thanks, guys," I said, my voice muffled through my arms. "I really didn't want to stay in there."

"You're welcome!" Keyonna said, obviously happy that she shared a piece of her mind - and fist - before she left.

"You're o-okay, right?" Said a now-noticeable whisper-voice.

It wasn't as noticeable to them though as it was to me.

"I'm fine, Lacie," I said, smiling. Keyonna and Andy stared, mouths agape but smiling at the same time. They started asking Lacie a whole bunch of questions, which she answered timidly - sometimes she looked to me for support.

Eventually everybody else returned to the kitchen. Apparently, Kenneth had left on his own; nobody told him to leave but he claimed he felt he 'would keep us safer' if he did. Tch. Yeah, right. We all shared conversations together, for once including Lacie, the men chatting about their trip until nightfall.That was when we all said our goodnights and went to our respective bedrooms. I held hands with Andy the whole time walking there.

When we got into the room, I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head into the crook of his shoulder. "I've missed you so much, love."

He wrapped his arms around my lower back and pulled me closer. "Me too." After a few moments of embracing, we laid down on our sides - heads propped up on elbows style - facing each other. "What did I miss while I was gone?" He said, the back of his hand caressing my left cheek.

I smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling it to and resting it on my stomach. "Our baby moves alot now - kicks, too." His eyes lit up as he felt the motions himself and he let out his wide smile. He leaned down to my stomach, kissed it, and leaned his head on it.

"I love you, Kara. Thank you for everything . . ."

I reached down and rubbed his back softly. "I love you too, Andy," I smiled widely. "But I should be thanking you more."

He shrugged and pulled himself closer to me. I noticed after while that he was looking at my face. "What is it?" I said, a bit embarrassed.

He stared for a few more seconds and then shifted our bodies so we would be face to face. He grabbed my hands and kissed each of my fingers softly, then moved up to my face and kissed me with the same feel. He stared into my eyes. I almost lost contact every few seconds due to my rising blush, but I managed to keep it.

"Kara," he said quietly, like a half-whisper.

I moved closer to hear him. "Yes?"

"I really, _really_ love you, Kara. It all started two years ago when we met on that website on accident, and now here we are. The world ended but we're together. And we're four months away from having a baby. Can you believe that it all really happened?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but he continued talking. "Everyday with you has been wonderful - even better than wonderful - that I could've ever imagined. Even in a new life, a life with no freedom . . . I'm happy. Happy because I have you, happy because we still can have the life that we've always imagined. Can you tell me how we always saw it?"

I smiled and nodded in agreement. He always asked me something that he already knew so he could hear it again. "It would be us, living in our own place. We've just got out of high school, and we're working on college while living together. We try to reach our dreams and fulfill one everyday just by being able to say I love you in person."

He smiled back. "And then what?" He played with my fingers.

"Eventually, we get married. We make love for the first time and awhile later we start talking about children."

"That's right." He cupped my face in his hands and stared into my eyes again. "I know we've went a little backwards with our plans, but that's not a problem, right?" I nodded while smiling, thinking back on everything. He kissed me full on my lips, passionately for a few seconds, love erupting in every part of our lips.

"I love you, Kara, so much," he breathed.

"I love you too," I replied in a whisper.

"Kara . . . " He said after a few more moments, whispering. He stopped kissing me and looked at me straight on. His eyes were lit up.

"What is it?" I said curiously, reaching under his arms and held his face.

"I want you to be my wife, Kara. I want to be able to look at you, think of you, see you, knowing that we're finally _complete._"

I stared in surprise, my shriek about to escape my lungs, my body about to throw itself at him.

He blushed a bit and scratched his head. "I'm sorry I couldn't have made it more . . . official. You know, a ring, and all." My eyes became watery but he was looking down at my hands. "I promise that we can get married again one day if we have to. So you can have the wedding that we imagined before." He looked up at me and became surprised a little bit as well. "Kara?"

I wiped my eyes. "I-I'm fine with just one time." I sniffled and hugged him as tight as I could. "I love you, I love you_, I_ _love you_; Yes, I will marry you! If you would've asked me before we met, I would've said yes and waited until the day of our wedding to meet you for the first time if we had to." I was already breaking down and right on top of him by the time I was finished. He wiped my face and I could see that he was crying, too. He was just as happy as I was.

I love him.

--


	10. Everything Will Be Alright

**Here's the final, guys! I hope you all enjoyed our story :)**

**A) All of the characters except the obvious ones from the book are OC.**

**B) I do not own The Host, but thank you Stephenie Meyer for making up such a wonderful story :)**

**C) Please read, review, and enjoy!**

**Thank you very much for reading this whole time. We love you!**

--

It was December fourteenth, the morning of my wedding. We had to rush to get this all prepared in less than three weeks - December fourteenth is a very special day for me and Andy; it was the day we first started dating two years before. I was looking into the mirror at myself, all of the girls surrounded me while chattering away excitedly. We'd been up since four o'clock in the morning getting ready, and now it was almost eleven A.M - the time that the wedding was to start.

We made our way upstairs and everyone took their places - Sam would be the one to walk me up the isle. Keyonna was my bridesmaid and would follow me to the isle, holding the trail of my dress. Roger was Andy's best man and would be by his side as well. Lacie and Sarah were our flower girls, even though we really didn't have any flowers - they used rice instead. Christian was the pastor, while Melissa and Latisha looked on from behind us. Kenneth was nowhere to be seen, of course.

The bell rang at eleven - it was automatic to ring at every hour so all of _them_ eventually became oblivious to it - and I stood at the entrance. Everybody had came out and stood in place. I caught eyes with Andy a few times and blushed; he had seen me before the wedding since there was no place for me to wait (of course, I couldn't go outside), but it wasn't a problem.

Sam hooked his arm around mine and we walked slowly up to the front, one step at a time. My heart was beating extremely fast, my smile wide on my face as I reached the altar. I heard Andy let out a breathy, "wow" when he looked at me. I reached out and held his hand, when Christian started his speech. He didn't use a book.

We were there for a while before we reached the end.

"Now," He said, looking around at each and every one of us while smiling. "The moment that we've all been waiting for." He clasped his hands together and looked at me. "Kara, do you take Andy to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

I smiled enough that it reached my eyes. "Of course, I do."

"And Andy? Do you take Kara to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I asked her, didn't I?" He said, making everybody laugh. He apologized after they calmed down and said, "I do." Even though I expected it, I still smiled. We turned to each other and I looked up at him, giddy with anticipation. He was smiling just as hard back, his hands holding onto mine.

"Well then, you may kiss the bride!" Everyone broke into cheer before we did so. I looked around at my family and gave a small wave and a smile, and then leaned up to kiss my husband. The bell rang again for twelve o'clock and blocked out the noise of everybody's cheers, but that wasn't the only noise that was heard.

Outside, there was a huge commotion . . . unidentifiable. The noise was much more than the wind. They were _voices._

"Oh, God." Someone said, whimpering. I don't remember who. My mind was blank.

The door slammed open, the light of eyes bouncing off the walls. We all screamed and tried to hide as a group of Seekers came and kicked pews aside. Roger yelled out to Kenneth who was in the crowd.

"There they are, the stupid humans who thought they could hide!" He said to one of the Seekers. They looked at him in confusion but nodded. It was understood that he was still human, but they were going to kill him anyway.

_Along with us._

But things happened all too fast.

By the time I heard what he said, it was too late.

"Don't move!" One said, holding a shield. The way they were equipped reminded me of a SWAT team.

But I couldn't listen.

I screamed.

I turned around to run, any place, it didn't matter, but it was useless. I heard the cocking of a gun and then less than a second later, screams cut short.

"Sorry, but now I'm going to have to make you stop moving."

"PLEASE, N-"

--

--

--

--

--

"Kara?" A familiar voice.

"I think the No Pain is almost gone - she went through with the procedure very well." A kind voice.

"Can you explain No Pain again to me?" A girl . . . it was obvious that she was strong - willed. I knew that somehow.

All of the voices that I were hearing in my head indicated that I was crazy. Or dead. Was I?

"Go get Xavier and his father _right _now." A man? Or maybe a young male.

"Why?" Whined a younger boy. Maybe a teenager.

"Mmm . . . " I heard myself say, but I didn't know whether it was in my head or not. I heard a few gasps and the sounds of people rushing around.

"Quick! Hurry, go get them!"

I opened my eyes. The light above blinded me, causing me to use my lashes as shade. I realized that I was on a bed of some sort, a stretcher? I tried searching my mind but it hurt. I looked down at my feet, dangling off the edge of the bed. Beyond them, I saw quite a few pairs of legs. I wondered who the owners were as I realized that they were the voices I heard earlier.

That I was alive.

But looking down at my feet, I realized something was missing. Not anything on my legs, or my chest, but my _stomach._

My baby was gone.

"AHHHHHH!" I screamed, clutching my stomach with one hand and my face with my other. In this same instant I remembered what happend at my wedding, and only screamed harder. Everyone jumped and reached out for me, trying to calm me down. Their efforts were stupid, that's impossible - I was seperated from my unborn child forever, the unborn child that I had become so attached to, the one who I never and will never see. The tears began pouring out of my face and my throat felt like it was going to close.

A few people came running into the room, but I couldn't see through my tears.

"Kara, please, please, please calm down!" Said one of the mystery voices. I think the owner of the voice grabbed me.

"Calm down." Said another. The kind voice. "You're okay now, alright? You're alive, in your own body."

I whimpered under my breath as the voices, mostly the one in my ear, continued to comfort me. I used another ten minutes to calm down before I looked up at everyone. Apparently I was in a hospital- like wing of a cave, the walls decorated with holes in the purple rock.

"W-Where's my baby?" I said, knowing that the look on my face was the only one that a childless mother could give.

"He's here, don't worry. You should rest more before you see him. He's beautiful, Kara. He was never infected, he's two and a half now." I knew this voice very well by now, so I nodded even though my heart dropped. I had already missed the very beginning of his life - pretty much all of his firsts are out, now. But I didn't care. He was safe the whole time.

"Alright," I mumbled, laying back down. I think I fell asleep, I'm not sure; _hospital_ lights look the same twenty-four-seven. But those weren't in my eyes when I woke up. Instead, it was me staring straight back at myself. And then, I realized.

"Bria!" I said, with a gasp. I started to cry. She started laughing and pulled me into a hug.

"FINALLY, you're awake! I've been standing there everytime you stirred so you would see me!"

I stumbled over my words with my tears. "I'm so . . . fucking . . . happy that you're a-alive, B-Br -" but I couldn't finish. My tears were enveloping me too much.

She hugged me tightly and gave me a thumbs up with a wide smile. "Watch your language!" She said. I looked at her confused. She pointed downwards, to my left.

Laying next to me, I knew as soon as I saw him, that it was my son. He was sleeping, of course - nobody else was in the room with me who was awake besides Bria - but that didn't stop me from staring at him for the rest of the night. He had black hair, well, dark brown, and he was slightly darker than I was. His hair was a little bit long, it went right up to his eyes, but it looked as if it was kept neat so it didn't seem to be a problem. His face resembled mine alot more than I would've imagined for a son, but even then I was able to see younger Andy in him. He really was our child.

"What's his name?" I asked, feeling a bit bad that I needed to ask that.

"We call him Xavier," she said, looking at her nephew lovingly.

I was a bit scared to ask this but I had to. "Who named him?"

She bit her lip and looked into my eyes. "I won't lie to you, Kara. But I would have to start from the beginning to tell you everything."

I waited for Bria to tell her story to reveal everything I had missed in . . . three years? It terrified me to know that I missed that much.

"When I disappeared that day . . . Kara, they tried to catch me. And they succeeded. They inserted a soul into me, but they said my body was defected. I took control of my body within days, where I was given another soul. I screamed and thrashed and drove each and every - all twelve souls - crazy!" She laughed and gave me a big smile. "So then I found this place. Heh, it's a bit ironic, if you think about it. We're in Arizona!"

I smiled at what she said; Andy lived here before the Church.

"So then I escaped before they could dispose of my body. I gained conciousness _quite_ fast, but it was because I was only so determined to stay alive. I was tooken to a medical center out here by the time I was given my final soul, and on the way out I found Melanie, Wanda, Jared, and Ian on a raid."

I looked at her with confusion. "Oh, yeah, you don't know who they are. You'll meet them soon." She gave me a reassuring smile and a peace sign. "But anyway, so I asked to be tooken on a raid to help find you guys. Here I was trained with Doc, the resident doctor here, and learned about insertions and saving people."

I looked at her in surprise. She continued speaking. "So then we found you guys. Actually, it was pretty weird, dude. We've gotten so good at hiding ourselves that we can pretty much go out in public - actually, some souls don't even mind us anymore - but anyway, so we were just eating at a restaurant for once. Wanda was ordering for us while we broke off any sort of eye contact, and there you three were. Well, not you three, but your bodies. You, Andy, and Xavier."

I stared in shock, speechless. This whole time, we were a family, but did not remember one bit of it.

"So we took them back with us and asked them questions. They said that their hosts - you two - had a bond that was like, super strong. So it went through to them two as well. And the one in Andy's body named him after a name that you guys had made up a long time ago; he said he remembered it back to when you two only had phone convos and internet, nothing more."

I felt like asking a question this time. "So why did they . . . not change him?"

She looked at him at the same time I did. "They wanted to wait until he was atleast five or six - luckily, they never got that far," She said, winking. "And that's it. It took a few months to get you awake again."

Another blow of shock came at me. "A few _months? _Why?"

She sighed. "Well, Kara. If you remember, you were shot in the skull." I winced, and then shivered. "So we're not sure, but we have a feeling it might have something to do with that."

I nodded and murmured and okay. Moments later, after Bria left and after looking at the sleeping Xavier on my side and Andy in the chair nearby, I smiled. What I wanted was here the whole time, and more was awaiting me outside of this room.

I was almost tempted to leave when I got up and stretched, feeling my now full-grown body. I looked into the mirror and looked to see any differences, but I couldn't remember what I looked like before. I knew I had changed somehow though.

I heard Andy's chair creak.

I turned and took in his expression, one full of love, surprise, and sadness for the lost past all at the same time. I walked over to him and sat in his lap, laid my head in the crook of his shoulder like I used to, and cried, for the fact that the life that we've always wanted was right here, right in front of us in our grasp, closer to us everyday.

I heard the bed sheets ruffle and we both turned our heads.

"Mommy?"

I jumped off of Andy and went right back to Xavier, pulling him into my arms for the first time.

"Yes, honey. Yes, Mommy's here. Everything will be alright."

And for once, I didn't have to lie to myself regarding my being.

_Everything will be alright._

--

**Thank you sooo much, everybody, for reading. I hope you enjoyed all ten chapters of Humanocide, please read and review and tell me what you think!**

**If you guys were wondering this was original in Miscellaneous books, I just moved it to The Host section when I posted up Chapter IX. Thank you again everybody for reading!**


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